Rear Whining Noise 98 Windstar

The whining noise is sporadic, but comes always while I am driving and never while I am idling. The noise comes from the rear and seems to be more on the passenger side then the driver side. It usually will last between 5-20 seconds and then go away. When I slow down or hit the brakes it usually will go away. The noise comes at speeds between 25-50 mph regardless of whether I am turning the steering wheel or not. The whining noise is not deafening, but a steady noise. I've had my Windstar for almost 3 years it has 95,000k on it, of which 30k I've put on myself. Besides the alternator, brakes, and tires, I have not had to change anything else on it. Other than this sporadic whining noise the ABS light will come on occasionally. The whining noise and ABS light problems seem to be independent of each other. I read somewhere that maybe the whining noise is from the differential fluid? I ahve no idea what this means, but I know there is a chance it could be a serious rpoblem that needs attention. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

Jason -

Your Windstar is front-wheel-drive - which means no differential is in the rear. On front-wheel-drive vehicles the function of the differential is usually combined with the transmission and the result is commonly known as a transaxle. More importantly, it's up front with the engine - which means it has nothing to do with the sound you're hearing.

My guess? You either have a rear wheel bearing that's going bad, or perhaps your parking brake isn't releasing all of the way - and the dragging brake shoes are sometimes causing noise.

ABS lights can be caused by sensor problems (there's a sensor at each wheel that tells the ABS system how fast each wheel is turning). Get it checked out: If the system isn't working correctly, you may not have ABS when you need it most.